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Ruth Hannigan
Ruth Hannigan is a resident of Pacific Glade and widow to homicide detective Mark Hannigan. Overview Zombie Radio * Ruth is taking Stephen and Rory Hannigan out for ice cream when Mark calls to warn her about the dangers of the radio. The entity Mark is chasing takes on Ruth's voice to try to manipulate him and melt his brain. Remember Me * Ruth prepares dinner for the Inspector when he comes to visit. She is just as swept up in Marcy McKenna's delusion as the rest of her family. Purple Moon * Behind the rift, Ruth's life energy manifests as a glowing, dripping orb of purple light, just like the other residents of Pacific Glade. Lucid Dreams * Ruth's father, Peter Lambrecht, is killed by a runaway driver while getting the morning paper. During the wake, Ruth consoles the other guests but is quiet and composed herself. She is one of the many people Mark hallucinates floating in the depths of Lake Lucid. Devour * In the quake, Ruth's son Rory is struck by falling debris and killed. Even though she is deeply grieving, Ruth tries to put aside her tears and help her surviving neighbors get to safety and tend to their injuries. She makes Mark promise to stay safe, but he sacrifices himself to seal the rift before she can see him again. Fallen Night * In the aftermath of the quake, Ruth and Stephen have moved in with Olivia Marconi and Janine Zimmerman. Ruth joins other mourners in Locklear Cemetery to lay Mark and Rory to rest. When she is left alone by their graves, she finally allows herself to cry. A Neverglades Halloween * Ruth attends the Inspector's Halloween party when the Semblance appears to her in the guise of Mark Hannigan. The entity teases her by hinting that it's spoken with Mark, and that a bit of her husband may still be alive. It tries to bring her costume (the Neverglades itself) to life, but Marconi is able to subdue it long enough for Ruth to behead the entity and neutralize it. Family Plot * The Semblance disguises itself as Ruth's cousin Trina and plans to kill her when they visit the family plot at Locklear Cemetery. Although she sustains an injury in the struggle, Ruth survives and is taken to a hospital by the Inspector. Checking Out * Ruth convinces Sheriff Marconi to take a vacation to clear her head after Janine's death. The two take a road trip to the Cerulean Shores Hotel, where they learn about the missing tourists and get sucked into a bizarre dimension by the Backwards Woman. Ruth uses a paperweight to strike the entity and give Marconi time to throw it off a tall skyscraper. She supports Marconi's decision to return to the Neverglades after they get back to the real world. Fear No Evil * Ruth partners with the Inspector to confront the Semblance in the world behind the doors (the only civilian to join the police force in doing so). Together with Marconi, she is able to subdue the Semblance long enough to allow the Inspector to seal it away in its prison of darkness again. Ruth accompanies the other two to the edge of the Ghost Highway, but says she doesn't feel the pull to walk down it, and chooses to return to Pacific Glade instead to help clean up after the Semblance's mess. Ghost Highway * When Marconi says that she wants to rescue Mark Hannigan from beyond death, Ruth refuses to join her, saying that she doesn't believe death can be reversed and that trying to do so will only cause more pain. She stays behind when Marconi and the Inspector enter the world beyond the doors. Notes * Ruth is one of four characters to have narrated a story in the Neverglades series, the other three being Mark Hannigan, the Inspector, and Olivia Marconi.